thanks to everybody for responding! being a newbie i am just overflowing with questions. so the basic requirement for poser import is that i be able to export it from the prop modeller as an obj? is that correct? i've got little experience with import/export with 3D formats, but what i do have has taught me that textures are often lost. any comments on that? i'm going to give the amapi a try. and hey! what about truespace? i've got that! maybe i could try it! to bjbrown: i have one of those freebie copies of amapi, too, so maybe i will try and use it. i played with it a little and it seemed unstable. but with a rookie behind the wheel, what can you expect? hahaha. to sharen: thank you for the freebies link. i'll check them all out! i'm just a hobbyist so the 3Dmax is not an option. i notice that rhino is very popular, but even it would stress my budget. i've got amapi and truespace. i think i'll give them a try, now that i know that obj export seems to be the key. to peejay: thanks! thats a great link. lotsa free software. to jon: i will keep wings3D in mind. thats interesting that you mention uvmapper. i downloaded that here recently when somebody mistakenly told me that i could use it to generate the mtl file for a poser3 obj export. so wings3D won't texture itself? oh! i bet it will texture but the uvmapping is a step above simple texturing. am i right? again, thanks to everybody! your help is much appreciated. zspider